1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a soldering tool and, more particularly, to a soldering tool which attaches a thermocouple to a central region of a soldering tip by compressive force.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different types of soldering tools are known to those skilled in the art. As will be described in greater detail below, soldering tips are available in commercial quantities from Hughes Industrial Products Division and Unitek Equipment Division of the Weldmatic Corporation.
In order to be useable with automatic soldering equipment which regulates the temperature of the soldering tip, some means must be provided to permit the measurement of the temperature at the operative tip of the soldering tool so that the temperature can be properly regulated by the automatic soldering equipment. In soldering tips known to those skilled in the art, the thermocouple is attached to the operative region of the soldering tip in several different ways. First, the thermocouple can be bonded to the operative region by a globule of meltable material, such as a nickel, copper, chromium alloy, thereby physically encapsulating the operative end of the thermocouple wires within the globule and attaching the thermocouple to the soldering tip. Another means for attaching the thermocouple to the soldering tip utilizes a small strap of nickel material and attaches the strap to the operative region of the soldering tip with miniature spot welds. The strap maintains the thermocouple in thermal contact with the operative region. These known techniques for attaching thermocouples to soldering tips create several problems in their manufacture and use. For example, the manufacture of soldering tools using these techniques is both time consuming and expensive. In addition, these techniques result in failure of the soldering tip after an unacceptably small number of repetitive uses in soldering operations. It would therefore be beneficial if a soldering tip could be constructed in a way which permits its inexpensive manufacture and results in a sturdy device that permits a higher number of operations before failure and the need to replace the tip.